Stay on top of the weather: how to prepare for snow squalls

Iowans will now be warned when mini-blizzards are expected to hit.

The National Weather Service is debuting a brand-new warning called a snow squall, which are short and intense bursts of heavy snow that cause low visibility and are often accompanied by strong winds and occasionally quick drops in temperature that cause roads to freeze up quickly.

In the Midwest, snow squalls generally happen in the afternoon hours and develop when a cold front is passing through the area, accompanied by snow showers. The weather service will look for combinations of conditions that lead to snow squalls to determine whether a warning needs to be put out.

Rich Kinney, the warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service Quad Cities, explained that snow squalls should be thought of as 'really short term types of blizzards” and warnings should be treated 'like severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings.”

Kinney also clarified that snow squalls are not expected to be frequent events in Iowa and residents should only anticipate receiving two to three warnings per winter season. Still, when they occur, snow squalls 'can be quite dangerous.”

'We're starting this year to now issue these snow squall warnings to help people be aware of these situations and slow down, perhaps get off the road until the situations pass,” Kinney added.

'We're really just trying to get the word out, which is especially impactful during high travel times, like holiday travel weekends, rush hours, morning and late afternoon commute times, that can really add to the danger,” Kinney stated.

While snow squalls have occurred in the past, the National Weather Service did not have 'an effective way to deal with the situation,” because snow squalls happen in such brief periods of time but are high impact situations.

'We never had an effective method to get the word out about this particular weather situation. We're always reevaluating products and services and felt it was a good idea to add a snow squall warning as another warning in our Tool Box to deal with these situations to let people know ahead of time to take action to stay safe,” Kinney said.

The National Weather Service will know several hours ahead if an environment is favorable for snow squalls, which would give them adequate time to warn travelers and commuters, however, specific information on the location of the snow squall will most likely come about 20 to 30 minutes before the weather event through radar equipment and technology.

'When [we] get down to warning phase, we need to wait until these snow squalls begin to develop on the radar … and eventually these snow squall warning will be incorporated into the wireless emergency alerts on your cellphones,” Kinney remarked on how his organization will be able to pinpoint the event and warn travelers.

The meteorologist explained that the best way people can be prepared for a snow squall is to stay alert and updated on weather information.

'The bottom line for the public and especially travelers, it's really important to stay on top of the weather before you travel. Have a plan. Have a winter safety kit in your trunk and really check the latest conditions, and if it's a case where we're talking about potentials for snow squalls for later in the day or you hear your local meteorologist mention it, it should get your attention that hey, this type of severe winter weather is happening and you need to prepare for that. Situations can develop very quickly, and people can find themselves in very dangerous situations,” Kinney articulated.

For individuals who find themselves caught in the middle of a snow squall, the meteorologist suggests for travelers to 'reduce speed as soon as possible,” and turn on headlights and emergency lights. He also highly recommends those traveling on highways during a snow squall to find a safe location to either pull off and exit or stop and wait out the weather. Examples of safe locations include rest stops or gas stations. Kinney stated that people should avoid stopping under underpasses or simply pulling over on the side of a road, which often creates traffic blockages and may lead to more problems.

'I think initially, reducing speed as soon as you can and if at all possible, taking the nearest exit or pulling over and waiting out this weather is the advised action,” Kinney concluded.